And To You, A Single Rose
by toledo girl
Summary: BJ is the new man in the camp. He is told about Trapper and decides to show everyone that he can outprank him, but what happens when he messes up and reveals Margaret's true feelings? What if they could change her life? H/M
1. Chapter 1

1

BJ Hunnicutt was the new kid on the block, of course, that was right before Colonel Potter, but never the less, he was still new to the place. It hadn't taken long for him to get an idea of who every one was. The first two people he had met were of course Hawkeye and Radar. His first impression of Hawkeye was when he was upset over missing Trapper. He was angry and upset, but he quickly introduced himself and revealed his true sense of humor. Radar seemed jumpy, but nice enough.

The real kicker was when he got back to camp and met Major Frank Burns. He never really actually remembered the first time that he met him, but he will never forget the morning after.

BJ lay in his new bed. He was still in his class A uniform, but, it was messed up. His shirt was unbuttoned in a few random places, his shirt partly hanging out. His hat was the only thing that covered his face and shielded it from the sunlight. Before he knew it, he could feel two hands shaking his shoulders. "What is it?" he moaned still half way sleeping.

"Sir, Major Burns wants you in his office."

BJ turned his head and squinted as he slowly lifted his hat up. The creature he saw standing over him was a man with black hair that covered his body. He could tell that it covered most of his body because he happened to be wearing a small dress with a v-neck that only went down to his knees. "Don't you think you need a shave or something?" he asked as he propped himself up on both of his elbows.

"No time for that now. The Major is already mad at me. I don't need to give him another reason to put me on KP."

"Right." BJ just moaned as he grabbed his throbbing head and finally stood up. He slowly followed the man in the dress.

"Klinger's the name and psycho's my game," he said extending his hand as they walked in direction of the office.

"BJ," he said grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Sorry you had to arrive after Colonel Blake left. He was the best. Now all we've got is Major Burnout and his merry mistress running the show."

BJ just looked over at him and pondered on that. He had no idea who these people were and already he was annoyed. "You also would have liked Trapper. The head prankster, the king of originality."

BJ stopped and smiled at Klinger. "The head of originality? I have some news for you, you're looking at the king right now in front of you," he said.

Klinger stopped before the door and smirked. "Yeah? Well if you can get these two split up and against each other by the end of the week, you've got it," he said and then led him into the office. BJ looked over and saw Radar sitting at a desk trying to type something. He remembered the little guy and smiled. It was when Klinger had opened the door that his smile faded. Margaret was sitting up on top of the desk with her hand held out to Frank who was sitting in the chair and painting her nails. He could hear the random giggles and whispers that came from them. "Excuse me?" BJ asked.

They both panicked as Frank quickly stood up and held the bottle behind his back. Margaret jumped off the desk and wheeled around to face BJ.

"You should have been here ten minutes ago," Margaret coldly stated.

"Why? Did I miss his presentation on how to file the nails before you paint them?" BJ asked.

"Stop that!" Frank snapped. Although, it was very hard to take seriously. "I am your commanding officer and I will not tolerate any back talk! Whether it is to me or Major Houlihan!" The blonde on his right seemed to light up at that. She smiled and turned to him. "Oh Frank! You were made for this job," she announced.

"Well, you know what they say, some people got it and some people don't," he explained.

BJ just stood back and rolled his eyes. This couple was obviously wacko. It was going to be harder than he thought to break them up. This here is how it all begins. Either BJ's best prank ever, or his worst, depending on who you are.


	2. Chapter 2

2

BJ sat at the mess tent across from a hung over Hawkeye who now had his head down on the table. He himself was also hung over, but right now he had more important things to think about. His curiosity had been sparked. With in these next twenty four hours, he was going to try and find out as much as he could about Margaret and Frank.

"How well do you know Major Burns?" BJ suddenly asked. Hawkeye slowly lifted his head and questionably looked up at the man. His eager face was awaiting the answer. "All too well if you ask me. But certainly not as well as hotlips if that's the sort of thing that you're looking for."

"No, I just need to know," BJ started. He could tell by the blank look on Hawkeye's face that this was going no where at the moment. He thought that he might just have to hold off on him until later on when he was feeling better. "Never mind," he said and then just went back to his own thoughts.

That was when the infamous couple walked into the tent and went over to get their food. BJ turned and watched them. Hawkeye noticed his strange interest in the two and looked over and then looked back at him with curiosity. "What's with you and this strange obsession of the two "discreet" lovers?" he sarcastically asked.

BJ sighed and turned to him. "I've got to split them up in a week," he responded. As soon as he looked down he could feel Hawkeye staring at him. "Are you kidding me?" BJ looked up. The expression of shock in his voice was less than encouraging. "Nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it."

"No it's not. Trapper and I already tried. Take it from some one who has been stuck here with king kong and Faye Raye for a while. They don't split up," he said and then smirked. "That is, unless she gets angry with him and throws him out of her tent. Before that though, Frank has to has to have done something to provoke her, you know, like exist."

"So all I have to do is turn them against each other?" BJ asked starting to find this a little easier. "Well, then there's the hard task of keeping them apart. She's thrown him out so many times that you would think he lives by her door. But some how she takes him back. If you're going to separate them, you might as well make it last."

BJ looked over and watched the two as they headed over to an empty table and then smiled. "Excuse me." BJ stood up and then leaned down by Hawkeye. "What ever you do, do not let either of them leave until I get back over here," he said and then walked away. Hawkeye just turned and watched him walk out into the compound. All he wanted to do was to take a nap, but he also knew that it was important that he watch the two.

Hawkeye ended up staring at the two for ten minutes. All they did was sit there and exchange smiles and close whispers. They thought that they were being subtle, but of course, they weren't. Once BJ came back, he quietly slipped in and sat back down across from Hawkeye. "I did it," he softly announced.

"Did what?" Hawkeye asked.

"Her tent. I borrowed a recorder from Radar and snuck it into her tent," BJ said. He smugly smiled down at the table and then focused his eyes up on the couple. "I did this after I heard that General Hammond was coming in tonight."

"How did you know about those two?" Hawkeye asked.

"Radar filled me in. I got him to spy on them for a while for me," he explained.

Hawkeye looked up. He was genuinely surprised at him. "First day and you've already learned the ropes. Nice job." BJ just smirked and then motioned over to Margaret who was getting up to leave. Then it suddenly hit Hawkeye. "Wait, why is General Hammond coming?"

"He wants to evaluate Frank's leadership," he answered.

Hawkeye suddenly cracked a small, little evil grin. "You what that means don't you?" he asked. BJ just raised his eyebrows. "You might not know t his, but Frank is the most paranoid, annoying, whiney, wannabe, commander there is and any chance to mess up his so called leadership is golden. Don't you see? We need to take advantage of this and really give General Hammond the hint that Frank Burns is not at all fit to command anything," Hawkeye explained.

BJ just stared at him with a new sparked interest. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" BJ asked.

"That all depends on what you're thinking," Hawkeye said.

"Hit two birds with one stone?" BJ asked. Hawkeye's smiled grew even more. "Exactly."

After lunch, the two went their separate ways. BJ went back to the swamp while Hawkeye was on post op duty. There weren't many patients there at the time, but that didn't matter. Right now all he wanted to be able to go back to sleep like BJ. While he was looking over one of the patient's charts, Klinger and Radar had walked in to change a light bulb.

"Come on Radar, if you're not going to actually change it, at least hold the ladder steady!" Klinger snapped. "I'm trying," Radar responded.

"Can we please show some respect for the dying man standing before you and keep it down?" Hawkeye asked.

"Sorry sir," Radar said. And then stepped away from the ladder as Klinger started to step down.

"Hey, did BJ tell you what he's going to try to do?" Klinger asked.

"He's in over his head, but I think that he has a chance," Hawkeye said.

"I don't know, look at him. The new kid trying to pull off a big time prank," Klinger said.

"What? You think he's not ready for the spot light yet?" Hawkeye asked as he looked up at him.

Klinger smirked. "Nah, nobody can ever just walk in and have their way. You have to earn it. Back in Toledo we never let the new kids do anything until we pulled something over on them first," Klinger said.

Hawkeye crookedly smiled. "You suggesting that we should get him while he's in the process of trying to separate ol' hotlips and ferret face?" he asked.

"Maybe, you got any ideas?" Klinger asked.

"After my shift, meet me in the swamp," Hawkeye said.


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Okay, so you know what to do?" Hawkeye asked.

"Sure do," Klinger answered.

The two were sitting in the swamp as they discussed their ideas. They each knew what they should do to completely throw BJ off, Hawkeye knew that this had to be big. Klinger was right, if he and Trapper had been the original team, the ultimate pranksters, why should he let some new guy come in and steal the light. That was not about to happen, at least not before he truly deserved it. Besides, he had a title to protect, the one that he had even before Trapper showed up.

"Alright then, as soon as he comes back I'll take him to the Officer's Club and make sure you can get into that tent," he said. Hawkeye wanted to make sure that everything would go just as planned. He had the feeling that if this was some how screwed up that it would come back to haunt him.

"And if they're in there, chase them out," Klinger said and then took a sip of the martini that he held in his hand. He simply looked down at his drink. He seemed to just be concentrating.

"I don't think you'll have to worry much about that. Those two are spending an awful lot of time in the office now," Hawkeye said. "And oddly enough no work is getting done in there."

BJ walked into the tent and looked around. "What are you two up to?" he asked. He could see that they were thinking about something.

"Reminiscing. Henry Blake," Hawkeye quickly lied.

"Oh," BJ said and then made his way over to the still. He grabbed a cup and poured himself a drink. "There's only about an hour until General Hammond gets here." The sandy blonde man slightly turned and looked to Hawkeye. It were as if he was giving him some sort of signal.

Hawkeye returned the look. "You got everything set up in there?" he asked.

"Yep, everything's in place," BJ announced. He sounded proud of himself. In a way he felt as if this was all some kind of initiation. That if he could pull this off that he would be welcomed into the camp.

"I'd better go check," Klinger offered as he began to stand up.

"Oh no!" BJ ordered. "I don't trust you."

"Alright, I'll go. I'm on your side, you don't know how bad I want to see these two a part," he said and then got up and walked out of the tent. BJ didn't stop him. That was a good thing for him, but a bad thing to himself. "Man, he's naïve ain't he?" he asked himself as he knocked on the door. No answer. Perfect. Hawkeye slowly opened the door and slid in. Once inside the tent he looked around and spotted the book on her desk. "Here you are," he stated as he cracked that smug little smile of his. He knew that it was her diary, he and Trapper had stolen it a few times and read it.

"Okay, where do we start?" he asked himself as he opened the book to a blank page. He pulled out a pen and started to quickly write. He looked off another page to copy her writing. It wasn't perfect, but no one would be able to tell that it was him. The entire thing took a few minutes. And just to be honest about something, he poked under the bed and made sure that the microphone was ready and then headed out the door and over to the swamp.

"Hey, what took you so long?" BJ asked from his cot.

Hawkeye closed the door behind him and looked around. He noticed that Klinger had left. "The microphone had to be readjusted," Hawkeye said.

"But it's ready now?" BJ eagerly asked.

"As ready as it will ever be," he answered. The only thing left to do now was to wait. To wait for Margaret to get back to her tent and to wait for the General to arrive.

It was about an hour, and then the General arrived. Hawkeye and BJ simply watched from their tent as Frank and Margaret began to suck up to him.

"General Hammond, how nice to see you," she greeted. She smiled, but every one could see it in face. She was horny. This was all an act put on in front of Frank and they both knew it. Actually, every one in the camp knew it except for Frank.

"Nice to see you to Major Houlihan. I hope that you are keeping your nurses in line here?" he asked. The question seemed rather forced. More than anything, it was just a subject to fill time until they could meet in her tent.

"Oh yes. She does very well. Even with the worst of nurses, hand her anyone and she can straighten 'em out," Frank said.

Margaret just glared down at him. "Yes Major, thank you," she said trying her hardest to still sound pleasant.

"Well General, shall we take you on a tour of the camp? You can perform your inspection tomorrow if you would like," Frank offered.

"Sounds good, but the tour won't be necessary. I've been here before," he stated.

The air became still and awkward for a moment. There was nothing more that either of them could think to say. "Well, Major," Margaret hesitantly started. "Why don't you go make sure that everything is in order around the camp while I discuss our daily routine with the General here?" she suggested as she tried her hardest to cover up what was really going on.

"Well, okay," Frank said and then winked at Margaret as he walked off towards the swamp. He had it in his head that she was going to put in a good word for him so that he could be promoted.

Radar, who was standing off in the background, witnessed this and ran over to his office. He swung open the door and ran in. "I saw her! She and the General just went in." He told his news to Klinger who was just sitting at the desk waiting.

"You sure? I don't want to do anything too early," he stated.

"Yeah! I saw them!" Radar said. He was beginning to sound like a little kid. The littlest things excited him, and being part of a prank this big really brightened up his day.

Frank walked into the swamp and looked around. "You two are dirty. Uncivilized! Perverted pigs! The General arrives and you two are sitting here in your underwear drinking that toxic!" Frank was getting irritated. He knew why General Hammond was here and he was not about to let something ruin his chance at being Commanding Officer.

"Would you prefer us to go nude Frank?" Hawkeye asked.

"Now really Pierce!" Frank snapped.

Hawkeye shook his head and then looked doubtfully over at BJ. "We better move, I don't think I can stay in the same camp with a man who has his eye on me," Hawkeye said.

"Can't you two straighten up for one night?" Frank asked.

"Hey, "I think I'm straight enough. I've got a wife, even a kid," BJ said.

"Come on you guys," Frank whined.

"What Frank?" Hawkeye asked as he stood up and walked closer to him. "You want us to put on some stupid act just to make you look good?"

"Well, yeah. That would be really swell of you guys," Frank said as he practically begged.

Hawkeye just looked back and sighed. He was about to make a remark, but he heard the speaker come on.

"Well General, where would you like to start?" Margaret playfully asked.

"Does it matter? It's all going to lead up to the same thing as usual ," he said.

Frank just looked up. "That's Major Houlihan!" he snapped with anger and disgust.

"We know Frank," Hawkeye said.

"Oh Margaret, seems like you knew exactly where to start," the General said.

"Well Mikey, you seem to be returning the favor," she responded.

Frank's eyes widened. He was clearly devastated. The cheers could be heard outside.

"Oh my God! General!" she screeched. "They can hear us!"

"What?" he asked.

The two ran out. They were both half dressing in a hurry as they walked out the door. Both with messy hair and thrown on clothes, stood there in front of a crowd that had been formed outside of her door. The jokes, whistles and cheers filled her with an anger and embarrassment that she tried to contain.

Klinger laughed while Radar just stared wide eyed at the speaker. "You did it kid! You did it! You're part of the biggest prank ever pulled!" Klinger stood up and enthusiastically grabbed Radar's hand. "You did well."

"Thanks," Radar said in shock. He had no idea how to take what had just happened.

Frank blankly stared as he slowly sat on his cot. The echoes of the jokes going around outside filled his head. "How could she?" he muttered.

Hawkeye and BJ both nervously looked back at Frank and then exchanged looks. "I think we just crossed the line," BJ said.


	4. Chapter 4

Frank sat there and just stared. He simply could not believe what had happened. "She really was," he softly whimpered.

Hawkeye and BJ just exchanged looks. "Well, I don't think they'll be seeing each other anytime soon," Hawkeye said. Hawkeye didn't really like either of the two, but he couldn't help but feel bad now. Seeing the looks on both of their faces was enough to make him feel guilty. Most of the times, the pranks would only irritate the two and every one would move on. Sure, he had put Frank into a few dangerous situations, but they still never effected him like this had.

"How could you!" Margaret screamed near tears as she slammed open the door. Right away she followed her instincts and walked over to Hawkeye and grabbed his collar. "How dare you! You ruthless, heart less!"

"Margaret! He didn't do it!" BJ chimed in before she could go any further.

"What?" she asked as she quickly turned to him. Her hands were still gripped on Hawkeye's shirt.

"I did it. Hawk here had nothing to do with it." He stepped forward to take the blame.

Margaret suspiciously looked up at Hawkeye. "Really?" she asked. Her eyes were still flaming with anger, but he could see the true pain in the tears that began to line her eye lid.

"Yeah," he casually answered.

"Oh." Margaret's expression softened as she slowly removed her hands from his collar. "Sorry," she said with a distant voice. It was hard for her to believe that BJ would do that. He had only been there a couple days and this was all something that she only expected from the people that didn't like Frank. She had figured that BJ hadn't even been there long enough to know any one there. Margaret slowly turned and looked over at BJ. Her eyes were that of a true pain and betrayal.

"You know Margaret." Hawkeye said putting his hand up on her shoulder, although she didn't even seem to notice his presence anymore. "Trapper and I have done this before."

"We were only saying good bye," Frank stated. Every turned and looked back with surprise at him. All he did was sit there and stare down to the floor. "We were only saying good bye." Frank then finally broke his stare and looked up at Margaret. At first, he seemed forgiving, but that quickly changed. "Like we should be right now!" he yelled.

Margaret stepped back in offense. "Frank! You can't possibly believe," she started but saw the look of betrayal on his face. "You do." It was meant as a question, but she already knew the answer.

Frank stood up and walked over to Margaret. "Of course I do," he calmly stated. "Time and time again I have shrugged it off as rumors, but I don't think I can do that this time." His eyes were cold as he locked them on Margaret.

"Frank,: she softly whimpered.

"Shut up!" he yelled and then punched her. Margaret fell back into Hawkeye's arms. She knew, as well as everyone else that she could beat him up, but right now was not the time for that. She knew that he was mad, and he had every right to be. She also knew that he wouldn't take this well, so there was no reason to add any more problems to his life right now. As soon as he saw her fall, Frank ran out the door.

"You better go make sure that he doesn't do something dumb Beej," Hawkeye said.

"Right," he replied and then walked out the door and followed him.

Margaret stood up and turned to face Hawkeye. "You really didn't do that?" she asked with disbelief.

"No," Hawkeye answered. "I didn't even give him the idea."

"Well," she bitterly retorted and the changed her position to stare outside. "You still knew about it. You should have done something to stop it."

"What was I supposed to do huh? Tell him no?" Hawkeye asked starting to get defensive.

"You don't understand do you!" she asked quickly wheeling around to him. "This is more than some joke! You have humiliated three people! And I'm surprised that the third one, THE most important one may I add, has not come here yet! I would think that he would be screaming his head off at you! That no one would see you here ever again!" Margaret yelled.

"I didn't do it!" Hawkeye argued. "Don't yell at me," he said.

"Right," Margaret sternly answered. Her entire body looked as if it had gone limp as she sighed. Even after she had tried her hardest to hold her tears back, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Margaret," Hawkeye gently called.

"Save it Pierce," she stated and then paced over to the door. She reached over and grabbed the door knob, but she couldn't do it. Hawkeye just watched and waited for her to leave. Instead, he saw her head go down and her shoulders begin to shake. "I can't do it," she sobbed and then fell to the floor.

Hawkeye sighed, he wasn't used to seeing Margaret like this, that was how he knew that they had gone too far. When she was simply mad, it was all fun and games, but when she didn't mind crying in front of some one else, she was hurt. "If you want to, you can just stay here. There's an extra cot over there in the corner," Hawkeye said.

"I can't do that!" she snapped with out turning to see him.

"Okay then, go on ahead back to your tent," he said.

"I can't do that either," she stated.

Hawkeye went over and stood beside Margaret. "Then what can you do?" he asked. Margaret just looked up and shook her head. Hawkeye then offered his hand and helped her up. At first she seemed hesitant, maybe even nervous to go along with what he was doing. Once she was on her feet and facing him, there was a regret in her eyes. He wanted so badly to just wipe away the tears and change what had happened. He wanted to be able to see her scream her head off at him and laugh about it while Frank gave them his usual lecture.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," she said with her voice still shaky. It was obvious how hard she was trying to gather her composure.

"You haven't shown me anything I haven't seen before Major." Hawkeye could easily see that she was still hurt. He also knew that she was going to cover up as much as she could. Margaret looked up and met his eyes as soon as he called her Major. She knew that he was trying to convince her that he still saw her the same way as he did before, but she had known better. "You don't have to pretend for me."

"I don't have to pretend anything for any one here," she sternly remarked.

"Either that was a complete lie or you really don't feel anything at all," Hawkeye said.

Margaret just stared at him for a second. She knew that they both knew the answer, but no one was willing to admit it. Instead, she allowed herself to be pulled into his arms. Tonight she had lost everything and just needed some one. Her image was ruined, although, she knew that barely any one respected her to begin with and was starting to wonder if this even really had any affect or if they already felt the same way about her that they do tonight. She also lost Frank. He might have been an annoying little pest at times, but he was her only friend. Now, that was all gone. She suddenly pulled away from Hawkeye and looked up into his eyes. "Why would you care now?" she asked.

Hawkeye just looked down at her. He knew why, he felt bad, but that was not the answer that she would want to hear. "I don't know. Maybe because I know we went to far," he answered.

Margaret back up and stared at him. "You work so damn hard to humiliate Frank and everyday and never feel an once of guilt. Now once you get what you want you feel bad?" Margaret had no idea of what she was feeling right now. The only thing that she did know was that she didn't trust him.

"I don't know what to say Margaret," he emotionlessly stated as he stood there.

Margaret just sighed as she looked out at the camp. "Right," she said.

**Sorry, I know this chapter is a bit sad, but I promise you the next few will be better. I'll find a way to lighten the mood of the story, unless you don't want me to. Let me know what you think. **


	5. Chapter 5

5

BJ walked in and spotted Frank up at the bar as he nursed a drink. He just sighed as he looked down at Frank. It was obvious that it didn't take much to get him drunk. "Hey Frank," he said as he went over and sat down next to him.

It took Frank a minute, but he looked up and acknowledged BJ's presence. "Well hello there," Frank said and then took a gulp of his drink.

BJ just rolled his eyes. "I wanted to apologize for what had happened earlier," BJ said. He wasn't sure whether or not rank was really listening, but he had to say it now, just to feel a little better.

Frank looked up at him and stared for a second. "Sorry?" he asked. He received a simple nod from BJ in response. "Sorry for what Captain? You merely opened my eyes to what I didn't see. If it weren't for you, I would have gone on believing that some one here actually cared for me. What do you have to be so sorry about?" Frank asked. He speech was slightly slurred, but nothing bad yet. The sad thing was that he had only had a couple drinks.

"Frank, I ruined your life here. Aren't you just a little upset?" BJ asked. He didn't know how to explain it, but BJ would have felt a lot better if Frank were just a little mad at him.

Frank laughed. "Some one beat you there buddy," Frank announced and then chugged down the rest of drink. "Really Beej, you helped me. You showed me the error of my ways."

BJ just sighed. 'If he's this drunk now, imagine what'll happened when he gets a few more in him. He'll be out in fifteen minutes.' he thought to himself.

"I think you should have done that a loooong time ago," he said and then ordered another drink.

As soon as the drink was set down on the counter, BJ quickly sat up and moved his hand over the bottle. "I don't think so. You've already had enough to drink." BJ took the bottle and started drinking it himself. If he was going to get through the night, he figured that he would need at least… six.

Frank looked over at BJ with a childish expression. "Aw, you do care," he said.

"Right," BJ said and then called Igor over. "I'll take care of his bill tonight," he announced.

"You sure about that?" Igor asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"I guess so," BJ said as he looked over and watched Frank for a minute.

"Okay then Sir," Igor said. He walked back and grabbed a piece of paper and then handed it to BJ.

BJ took the paper and his eyes widened in shock. "Six! You've drank six already!?" he asked with complete amazement.

"Five," Igor said pointing down at the drink that BJ held in his hand.

BJ just sighed and then rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll pay for what he has drank so far. But later on, don't come and get me," BJ said. He sighed as he reached in to his pocket and pulled out the money. "Bye kiddies, daddy loved you while you were here," he said and then handed it over.

Margaret stood there in the swamp. It was hard for her to even look outside. She knew that every one out there was talking about the events earlier. She knew better then to be naïve and think that no one cared. "Do you think that you could walk me back to my tent?" Margaret asked without Taking her eyes off of the compound.

Hawkeye nodded. "Sure," he said as he went over and grabbed her elbow. "Let's make this look like we're having some fun here," he stated.

Margaret huffed at him and then followed his lead to the door. "You ready?" he asked.

"If not now, I'll never leave until this war ends," she said.

"Okay then, away we go," Hawkeye said. They both walked across the compound. Hawkeye could here a couple comments, but quickly discarded them. No need to focus on them right now. Margaret was already mad at every one, no need to pour salt into a wound.

Once they got to her tent, Margaret quickly slipped inside. Hawkeye followed and closed the door behind him. He just stood there and stared at Margaret with sympathy. "You think you'll be alright here?" he asked.

Margaret sat down on her cot and looked up at him with watery eyes. "I don't know any more," she said. "I mean, no one here is ever going to listen to me again, nor will any one respect me and I don't expect them to. I haven't given them a reason to, but I just gave them plenty as to why they shouldn't," Margaret said.

"That's not true. You're a Major remember?" he asked. He didn't believe that at all, but right now all he cared about was cheering Margaret up.

"No, that doesn't mean anything right now," she answered. Margaret then stared straight forward. "Now this is going to spread and my reputation is going to be completely tarnished."

Hawkeye sighed as he walked forward. "Don't you think that you're making too big of a deal out of this?" he asked.

Margaret quickly turned to him and stood up. "TOO BIG OF A DEAL!?" she yelled. "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I AM MAKING TOO BIG OF A DEAL?!"

"Yes," he answered.

"How dare you? My Father, his life was the army so I go join it to please him. If I don't I'll disappoint him and myself. My career is possibly on the line, but no one knows since the General just some how disappeared! Every one here thinks of me as cheap!" she yelled and then started to slowly approach Hawkeye as she spoke. "Do you think that is making too big of a deal!? DO YOU THINK THAT I AM OVERREACTING NOW!?" she yelled.

Hawkeye looked off to the side. "I guess not, but that still doesn't mean that you don't go on with your life!" he said.

"That was why I was considering getting transferred out of here," she said.

Hawkeye just stood there and watched her for a minute. He couldn't believe it, she was going to leave.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Transfers and New People

"Transfer?" Hawkeye asked as he stood there in shock. It was beginning to sound as if she were giving up, something that he had thought that he would never hear from the Major Houlihan that he knew.

"That's what I said," Margaret said and then sniffled.

Hawkeye paced to the other side of the room. "Transfer!? You can't get a transfer! That's just basically giving up," Hawkeye said.

Margaret stood up. "Please, you've always wanted me to leave," she sharply stated. "If there was any reason why you would ever want me to stay is just so you could try and have a lucky night with me." Margaret walked over to her closet and started pulling her things out to get them ready to pack.

"Margaret, think about it. Who is commanding officer here?" Hawkeye asked trying to get her to see a point.

"Frank Burns," she said and then slowly looked up with realization. She turned to Hawkeye. "He would never let me go after this would he?" It was more of a statement to herself.

"You would have a better chance of getting a section eight along with Klinger out of here," he said. "And you wouldn't have to work as hard at it." If there was any way that he could get her to stay, he was going to do it. There was nothing that he wanted more than for her to stay. Although it was never shown, there was a part of him that was glad that she was there.

Margaret looked down and sighed. "I guess that I'm stuck here," she said to herself.

Hawkeye shrugged. "I don't know about that."

"What do you mean?" she asked looking up at him.

"You want a few days up in Tokyo?" he asked. He was currently leaving out the little detail of him going with her, but what ever.

"Give it a break Pierce," she started. Margaret was in no mood to start fooling around and trying to find ways to get around Frank.

"You don't think I, crazy Hawkeye Benjamin Franklin Pierce of the inventor, president and Indian can do it?" he asked. "How did you think Trapper and I would get so many vacations from here? You didn't really think that Henry was that generous with all of that stuff did you?" he asked.

"Fine, if you can get a hold of a three day pass to Tokyo, I'll take you with me," she said. Margaret couldn't believe that she had just said that, but then again, she really didn't believe that he was going to show up with two passes to Tokyo.

Hawkeye walked over to the door and stopped and turned back to Margaret. "Your will shall be done as written my queen," he mocked and then left the tent.

Hawkeye made his way across the compound and over to the Swamp. He walked in and saw Frank passed out on his cot while BJ stood there with a drink as he watched Frank. "What happened to Patton over there?" he asked as he went and sat down on his cot.

"The queen of class got to him," BJ said as he kept his eyes on Frank. "That man," BJ started.

"If that's what you wanna call it," Hawkeye piped in.

"Right, but he can absorb alcohol better then any of us. When he takes a drink he really takes in all of it and makes sure that it affects his entire body," BJ explained.

"Well, I need to get one of them a pass to Tokyo," Hawkeye said. "And I think I'm supposed to get it from the comatose one over there."

"There's gotta be a better way other than to just watch and wait for him," BJ said.

Hawkeye got up and went and poured himself a martini. "Of course there is. There always is." He walked back to where he was. "I mean, what kind of unfair war would this be without loopholes?"

BJ nodded in agreement. "So, what are you going to do?" he asked.

"Do what I always do," Hawkeye said. "Get Radar to do it," Hawkeye said. Hawkeye walked out of the tent and was about to go get Radar. He was almost there when Klinger came running to him with the mail.

"Captain Pierce!" he called out wanted him to stop and wait for him.

"What?" Hawkeye asked. He had a minute. Pausing where he was, he turned and waited fro Klinger to join him.

Klinger finally got there and stooped to catch his breath. Regaining his composure, handed him a few letters. "First off, you got mail sir," he announced.

"Anything I like?" Hawkeye asked as he took them and looked them over.

"A subscription fee to one of those magazines you like so much," Klinger said.

Hawkeye raised his eyebrows. "About half way there," he said and then put the mail into his pockets. There was definitely more going on than just mail call. There had to be. Klinger would have just waited if it weren't important. "What else did you wanna tell me?" Hawkeye asked.

"Sir?" Klinger asked trying to play dumb.

"No one does the one hundred meter sprint unless they need something," Hawkeye looked around the place. "Especially here, unless its to get out," he said.

"No one knows that better then I do," Klinger stated as he smiled to himself. The letter was right on top of the pile in the bag. He reached down and grabbed it. There was a mixture of joy and fear rushing through his veins. There was no doubt in what the letter was. "Here, you might find this interesting, Radar took a look at it earlier," he explained.

Hawkeye took it and stared at it for a second. "It's from HQ," Hawkeye said shrugging it off.

"Yeah, but why would HQ be sending us mail right now?" Klinger asked trying to get him to guess.

"Klinger, we get things from them all the time. Every week they want us to follow some new ridiculous rule that every one ends up ignoring anyways," Hawkeye said.

"That may be, but if you open that thing, you'll find a letter stating who our newest commanding officer is," Klinger announced.

"You mean to tell me that Ferret Face is out?" he asked getting excited.

"You bet," Klinger happily answered.

Hawkeye stared down at the envelope. His smile started to fade as he remembered everything that had happened earlier that day. "Wait, Klinger, I think this may be too much right now," he said. It was hard for him to believe the words that came out of his mouth, but he just couldn't be that cruel. He also knew that if Margaret knew, she would just ask the new man in charge for a transfer. If this got out too quick, everything would be ruined.

"Why wait? I was gonna throw a party," Klinger whined.

"Don't you think that this might push him over the edge?" Hawkeye asked.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Klinger stared to him a moment with confusion and then finally saw his point. He didn't want to have to give his section eight away to some one else and then have a standard to live up to. "Okay, I won't tell anyone," he said.

Hawkeye found that hard to believe, but that was all he could get for now. "Okay, and remember, if you drive him crazy, it's going to be harder for you to get out because then people will know what true craziness is and ignore your stunts," Hawkeye warned and then continued on his way.

"Yes sir," Klinger said and then continued on his way.

Hawkeye went and found Radar in his office. "Radar," he called out as he walked in and saw him at the filing cabinet. "Keep that thing open, I need two three day passes to Tokyo," he said.

Radar turned around and looked for a minute. "Could you hold on a minute sir? I'm looking for something important," he said and then turned back to the cabinet and continued searching through the papers.

"Yeah? What is it?" Hawkeye asked as he smiled.

Radar lifted his head and stopped. "Never mind, I'll get you your passes," he said and then closed the door and walked to the other cabinet and pulled out the slips. He forged the signature and handed them over as quickly as he could. It was quite obvious to Hawkeye that he was doing something completely embarrassing. Most times he would have started asking and joking around, but right now he had more important things to do.

"Thanks Radar," he said as he took the passes and left.

Radar just watched him for a second. He already knew what he was doing, he was able to hear his conversation with Margaret earlier as he was passing. Now he knew that it was true. "Gee, who would have thought?" he asked himself and then went back to looking through the cabinet.

Hawkeye went over to Margaret's tent once again and knocked on the door. "Oh madam? Your faithful servant is back, and he has a slip of paper that says you will be heading to Tokyo tomorrow morning," he said.

Margaret quickly rushed over and opened the door. She grabbed his arm and hurried him in and then closed the door behind him. "How did you do that?" she asked with suspicion. She knew he had skills, but this was a bit much for her to believe.

"A magician never tells his secrets," he said and then handed one of the passes to her.

Margaret took the paper and studied it. "This isn't Frank's signature," she snapped. "But it's damn close," she observed.

"Yeah, our little Radar can do a lot," Hawkeye sighed. He then turned his attention back to her. "So, are you gonna go or not?" he asked.

"Well, it's not like Frank will actually notice that we're gone," she said to herself. Margaret sighed and looked up at Hawkeye. "I guess so. I've nothing to lose if I do," she said. Normally, this was something that she never would have gone through with, but now, she needed to get away. She didn't care how, or when, or even where, but she just had to get away.

"See? You can bend the rules at times. It won't kill you," Hawkeye said. He was so happy that she had agreed to go that someone would have mistaken it as a trip with a girlfriend or something. He slipped the paper into his pocket and started to leave. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

"Wait," Margaret stopped him.

"Yes?" he asked as he turned back to face her.

"What time do I have to be ready by?' she asked.

Hawkeye stopped. That was what he had forgotten to get earlier was the flight that they were supposed to take. "Now that's the surprise part of the trip. That way you'll be even happier to leave because you won't be expecting it," he lied.

"You forgot didn't you?" she asked and then went over to her closet to start packing for the trip. "For a magician you only get half the job done," she remarked.

"Hey!" he snapped. "Nancy told me that I always complete the job," he said.

"That's disgusting," Margaret said as she grabbed her clothes and carried them over to her cot to lay them out.

"All I said was that I completed a job," he said with fake innocence.

"Grow up Pierce," she said.

"Fine. I will," he casually said as he just stood there.

"Really?" Margaret asked as she turned and looked to him with surprise.

"Yes, but only if you help me to become a man while we're gone," he said.

Margaret just rolled her eyes. She should have seen that one coming. "Do you think that you can find out what time our plane leaves before eleven o'clock tonight?" she asked.

"Sure. Do you want me to come sooner if I know before then?" he asked.

"No, I don't want people to be watching you slipping in and out of my tent constantly. I already have a bad enough reputation here, no need to worsen by having people think that I have moved on from one guy to the next," she said. Margaret just grabbed her suitcase and started carelessly throwing her clothes in.

"Okay then," he said. "I'll be back tonight and let you know real quick, but don't get mad at me if it only looks worse because it's late at night," he said.

Margaret stood up and sighed. He was right, that would look a lot worse if someone were to catch him then. "You're right," she said and then turned to him. "Meet me here tomorrow at eight. Nothing ever happens in the morning so no one will think anything of it," she said.

"Okay then your majesty, eight it is. See you then," he said.

"Bye Pierce," she said and then went back to gathering what ever she needed. The only problem was, while she was there, she was planning on looking for a permanent job. There was no way that she could actually come back here and show her face. She needed to pack everything that she had there in a matter of hours. "I just hope that this works out," she said to herself.


	8. Chapter 8

8

Hawkeye and Margaret arrived at the airport. Throughout the entire ride there, they were silent. There was the occasional small talk about random observations made along the way, but nothing important.

Hawkeye, the man who always had something to say, the king of wit, was having trouble forming his words. He knew what he had wanted to say to her the whole time, but he couldn't think of how to say it. Ever since the incident, he had felt a bit more protective over this woman. Something clicked in him, either from seeing her cry to him or walking her back to her tent had set it off, but he had to be there for her.

These feelings were somewhat new to him. He had always been a little attracted to her, that was never a big secret. Then again, he was attracted to most of the nurses. The new feeling however was a deeper attraction. It could have been from the pity, at least, that was what he had been telling himself. What ever it was though, he was about to spend three days with her. What those next three days had in store were up to him now. The one thing that he had to make sure to accomplish, the most important thing, was to make sure to convince her to not transfer.

The two walked side by side as they made their way to board the plane. Again, in silence. Margaret glanced down at her ticket, pretending to be checking something. Really, she just didn't want to have to force some sort of conversation with the raven haired man next to her.

She hated anyone to see her the way that he had just seen her. The tears and insecurity were things that she would normally hide. All she felt now was embarrassment. With every uncomfortable word that was spoken between them, she wondered how he viewed her. Whether or not he still had any respect for her, not that he had much to begin with.

"Margaret?" Hawkeye called.

Margaret stopped and looked beside her to discover that Hawkeye was gone.

"Over here!" Hawkeye announced.

Margaret looked to the opposite side and saw Hawkeye at the desk. She had been trying so hard to block him out that she completely lost track him. Great, she thought, another way to embarrass herself. "Sorry," she flatly apologized as she caught up with him.

Hawkeye got his ticket and then looked over to Margaret and watched her as she hastened to get hers. "Are you all right?" he asked. The obvious answer was no, but there was no way that he was going to just blurt out that he knew something was bothering her, most particularly something to do with him.

"Yes," she answered and then headed to get in line to get onto the plane.

Hawkeye sighed as he watched her walk away. This was going to be harder than he thought. If she was being this distant with him now, then how was he supposed to talk her into staying at the 4077th? Persistence.

Hawkeye got onto the plane and sat down next to her. "You know," he started. "I do have ears if you ever wanted to say anything."

Margaret continued to gaze out the window. "Thanks Pierce," she said.

Hawkeye wasn't about to give up. "Look Margaret," he stated.

Margaret quickly turned to Hawkeye and glared. "There is nothing wrong," she curtly replied.

"Fine then," Hawkeye responded. In defeat, he sat back in his chair and sighed. Common sense told him to just back up and give her space. His mind however, told him to do otherwise. Not just now, but in about fifteen minutes he would try again and again until he got through to her.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"There's really going to be a new CO around here?" Radar asked as he went and placed a file into the filing cabinet.

"That's what the letter says," Klinger replied, holding up the letter.

"Wow, I wonder what he'll be like," Radar said. Going back to his desk, he thought about Henry, the last CO. The one that he had gotten attached to and thought of as a father figure. "You think he'll be like Henry?" he asked.

Klinger shook his head. "I don't think so," he said.

They both knew that there was no one out there that could replace Henry, but they still had to wonder. Was this man going to be extremely strict? Or a push over? "All I know though is that he had better not be regular army," Klinger informed. "Any one who expects me to act normal must be insane."

"You guys are talking about me again aren't ya?" Frank asked as he walked through the door.

Klinger and Radar exchanged looks of worry. No one had told him yet that he was going to be getting replaced. After yesterday, no one wants to bother him. He seemed to be back to his normal self today, but no one wanted to test it. "No sir! Of course not!" Radar quickly defended himself.

"Right," Frank sneered as he went straight through to his office.

After the door closed, Radar looked over to Klinger, who was rereading the letter. "You think you should tell him yet?" Klinger questioned.

"Me?" Radar asked, starting to get scared. "Oh no you don't, you're the one that brought the letter here," he argued.

"Only because I happened to be on mail duty that day. You're still the company clerk, it's part of your job to tell the CO what's going on around here," Klinger fought back. He watched as Radar nervously looked over to the door. "Hey, maybe we can just slide the letter under the door, and let him find it," he suggested.

"Don't you think that'll make him even more mad?" Radar questioned.

"Yeah, but we won't be here to see it," Klinger explained.

Radar thought it over for a moment. He was right, as long as they weren't there, it was okay. "Okay, hand it over," Radar informed. "As soon as I get it under, we leave."

Klinger stood up and watched as Radar went over and carefully placed the letter down on the floor and then cautiously slid it through the crack between the floor and the door. "Go!" Radar quietly announced and then followed Klinger out the room through post op.

Within a couple of minutes of leaving the room, the door swung open. Frank stood there with the letter in his hand and a look of despair on his face. "Radar!" he called out, but got no answer, and saw why as soon as he looked the room over. "That little runt," he growled under his breath.

Instead of going out and looking for him, he just went back into his temporary office to sulk. His position had just been taken away from him.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Hawkeye sat on the plane with about a half hour left until they got to Tokyo. All of his attempts to talk to Margaret so far had all failed. There was one question though that he hadn't asked yet, one that he wanted to save as a last resort. "Are you really thinking about transferring?" he casually questioned.

Margaret was taken a bit by surprise. For some reason, she just didn't expect him to ask her about transferring. Deep down, she didn't want to leave, but she felt that it was something that she had to do. After being humiliated like she was, there was only one way to move on and start over, moving. No one was going to let any of this go. This was one of the times where you learn how many people are really against you, and she had learned just how many people loved seeing her be publicly torn down and it bothered her. "Yes," she answered as she turned to face him.

Hawkeye nodded and then looked to her. "I don't think you should," he stated, making sure to sound like it was just a casual statement, and not one of begging her to stay.

"Of course you do," she shot back and then continued to stare out the window.

"And what do you mean by that?" Hawkeye asked, slightly offended.

Margaret huffed as she back to him. "What do you think? You have never respected me, you never treat me like a human being, all you want me there for is to be the bunt of your childish jokes," she replied.

"That happens to be Frank's job," Hawkeye informed her.

"While you're at it, you could show him a little more respect. He does outrank you, you know," Margaret instructed.

"You were the one that was trying to take his job," Hawkeye responded.

"Ohho! That's mature," Margaret stated. "You can't even hold a simple conversation without trying to make a joke out of something."

"Tell me, is that more or less mature than running away because something went wrong?" Hawkeye asked.

"How dare you?" Margaret hissed, trying to keep her voice down as quiet as possible. "What happened back there is never going to be fixed, and you know it. My reputation, thanks to you and Captain Hunnicutt by the way, is forever ruined over there. Trying to be a head nurse would be like a goldfish trying to train a group of cats."

"What's so different now from before? You always complained about your nurses not listening to you," Hawkeye implored. "You know that no one there has ever taken any authority very seriously."

"I was publicly humiliated Pierce. I can't go back there," she simply stated.

Hawkeye just nodded and accepted the answer. He had to find a way to show her that she was needed there, and he had to do it quickly.


End file.
